Back For You
by A-ccentric
Summary: Heath got out. What happens when Heath Varbeck gets one more chance outside? Who will be on his target list? And which one won't be be coming back? - The continued ending after Chapter 20 of the Only For You book by Genna Rulon.
1. Chapter 21

**This is my first book Fanfiction that I wrote in response to my friend's request. I loved the book Only for you, but unfortunately didn't feel satisfied with the ending for Heath, so I brought him back! (I also emailed Fanfiction to get this book as a category for all you other Only for you fan writers!)**

* * *

><p><span>Back for You<br>1: Chapter 21

_' I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I lock every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three' -Elayne Boosler_

"He's out." There was no fear, no terror, no grief -not during the first few minutes of finding out. I couldn't feel anything. Every single part of me turned numb, pressing the phone to my ear so tight the plastic creaked.

Heath got out.

It wasn't as if he had broken out of the jail; he had actually been released. Heath, the sociopath serial-rapist and murder who brutally attacked over a dozen girls, leaving four of them for dead. Three of the girls, beaten bad enough to kill, had died because of their injuries -only one survived. That one, was Sam. Sam was my best-friend and the last of Heath's victims.

Heath had also tried to attack me in the parking lot of the hospital on my way back from visiting Sam. He had confessed to me about all his crimes, including the one he had plotted just for me. I only just managed to get away by throwing hot coffee in his face and escaping back into the hospital. The police picked up Heath and locked him away, assuring me and Sam he would face his crimes in court and live in prison for the rest of his life. Now he was out walking the streets.

"How the hell did this happen?" I screamed, waking from my frozen state with a burst of anger. The phone for the FBI front desk continue to ring in my ear, pacing up and down the floor of the apartment. The small complex suddenly seemed tiny and the room began to close in. My breathing increased with the short tightening of my chest, rippling cold and hot burst of heat through my veins. Panic sat on the doorstep, ready to flood in through my emotional gates. But not yet, I would not let them in. Before I was allowed to panic, I had to get a hold of _him_.

Only when the receiver on the other end picked up, did the pacing finally stop. A woman, one I didn't recognise, answered the phone.

"Hello, this is the Federal Bu-"

"I need to speak to Hunter- Agent Charles." I cut her off, correcting myself when I realised she might not know the agents on a first-name basis unless they were friendly with each other. This was not a friendly call.

"I'm sorry but Agent Charles is in a meeting." The receptionist, obviously irked at my cutting her off. "Unless it's urgent, I-"

"It's urgent."

There was a short silence on the other end.

"Hang on one moment." She finally replied.

"Thank you." I added, feeling a slight bit of guilt -among the many emotions I was experiencing- for being so rude.

I began pacing again, moving against the rhythm of the music that was apparently supposed to be calming, waiting for the call to be put through. Of course I wouldn't have been going through the hell of waiting if the idiot hadn't left his phone at the apartment. Here I was thinking FBI agents were responsible, always ready to jump to the phone if there was an emergency.

Finally after almost three minutes -having felt like a lifetime- Hunter's voice appeared on the other end of the phone. "Hello?"

"Hunter!" I exclaimed in relief -a new emotion I had yet to feel.

"Ev?" He said, obviously sounding surprised to hear from me. It also meant he hadn't heard about Heath yet, which was surprising. For an FBI agent, he was awfully slow on the news, especially on such a personal matter. I had only heard of it after a phone call from Detective Norse, who had been there the second they gave the word to release him.

"Heath's out."

"What?"

" .Out." I said, feeling suddenly irritated that he couldn't catch my words. Every time I had to repeat them the truth sank its teeth in deeper making me want to vomit more than I already had. I was sure there was nothing left to come up.

"Where are you?" His tone changed, serious worry channelling through the phone line.

"I'm at the apartment. Sam's here too. Detective Norse called and said he was getting out. How the hell did this happen, Hunter? He was supposed to be locked away for good!"

There was a long moment of silence on the other end of the phone, making my anxiety amplify once more. The speed of my pacing increased enough that I was threatening to weave a groove in the floor.

"I don't know." Hunter's voice finally appeared on the other end. "But I'm going to find out. I'll make a few phone calls and then I'm coming straight over. Don't leave the apartment. Do you hear me? Ev?"

"I got it!" I snapped, surprised at the sharpness of my voice -probably just my emotions getting the best of me. In a more controlled voice, I added. "We're not leaving the apartment even if a meteor hit us."

A soft chuckle came out the other end. Somehow, in the process of reassuring him, I had managed to amuse him. "Hunter this isn't funny!"

"I'm sorry. You're just taking this better than I thought you were. I'm relieved." He sounded exhausted.

"Okay. Just hurry up and come back. I don't think I'm handling this as well as you think I am and I don't know how I'm going to handle Sam."

"Is she okay?"

"She's locked up in her room. I'm worried about her."

"I'll send someone over first. I've got to go; the quicker I make these phone calls, the quicker I can come back. I'll be there as soon as I can okay? Keep the doors locked."

I hated the idea of putting the phone down, not wanting his voice to disappear and leave me by myself in the room. Just hearing him was good enough. But alas, he was right; having him back in person was better than just his voice alone. "Alright." I said and bid him goodbye before putting the phone down.

Without realising it, my emotions had calmed down after talking to Hunter, allowing me the pleasure of standing still while making coffee. Both were done in under five minutes, and I opened the door to Sam's room.

"Sam?" I asked, peering round the room. Her covers were piled over her, wrapped up as if she was sleeping. The mug was set down on the night stand and I gingerly sat on the edge of the bed. I wanted to reach out and touch her but didn't want to surprise her again.

When I told her the news she had completely frozen. I had tried touched her arm in an attempt to reassure her but she almost screamed in surprise before apologising and running into her room. At the moment I spoke the words, I could see the images of what happened flashing before her eyes, reliving the trauma all over again at the consequence of three words. Heath got out. Reaching out to her now made me fearful.

At this point, I didn't think she wanted to be touched or could even handle it. I was sure she wasn't asleep, and was sure she wasn't able to talk back to me, yet I couldn't bring myself to even hold her hand.

I stayed by her side without touching for the next ten minutes until a knock on the door summoned me from her room.

When Hunter said he was going to send someone, I was expecting one of his FBI colleges to turn up at the door in a suit and sunglasses, which left me surprised when I saw Griffin through the spy hole. I immediately opened the door and let him come inside before locking the door up after him. Even if Griffin wasn't an FBI agent, with his strong body and big muscles, he looked as intimidating as any of them could have been. Not to mention, I had already seen him in action before, punching the very same guy who was back out on the streets.

"Hunter gave me a call and told me what happened." He gave me a reassuring hug which I gladly welcomed.

"I can't believe it." I uttered. No matter how many times I had said the words today, they always felt false.

"Don't worry. He's not going to get anywhere near you or Sam." Griffin reassured me. "I won't let him." For a moment, his face took a quick glint of the anger he had seemed to hold down. There was no way he was ever going to let Heath off the hook for what he did to Sam. He had earned a punch from grabbing me once at the bar, I didn't want to think what would happen if Griffin was to get his hands on him. Heath would probably deserve it, but Griffin didn't need to be dragged down as well.

"Thanks, Griffin. I... We appreciate it."

Griffin nodded and looked around the room. "Where's Sam?"

"She's in her room." I said hesitantly. I wondered whether Griffin would have better luck trying to reach her. My growing fear of her regressing again left me open to anyone who could help. Griffin nodded again but made no attempt to go find it. He looked anxious, desperately wanting to check in on her. I realised Griffin was just like me. He wanted to hold her, help her in any way he could, but at the same time, he feared touching her, scared she would break.

"Will you go sit with her?" I blurted, surprised to speak my mind. Griffin turned to me and contemplated it for a little while. I wanted him to say yes and go with her, but I also didn't want to push him. He loved Sam, but I wasn't sure if his feelings was what she needed.

Eventually Griffin nodded and turned down the hallway to her room. I heard the sound of the door opening and shutting again and then silence, suspecting Sam hadn't freaked out upon his entry.

It was another few hours before another knock resounded on the door. I peeked through the spy hole and saw Hunter on the other side with a bag in hand. Unlocking the door, sliding off various chains and bolts, revealed the exhausted version of my boyfriend on the other side.

He came in and locked the door behind him before setting his bag down on the breakfast bar in the kitchen. I followed him, not saying a word.

When he finally did turn back on me, his arms wrapped around me and pulled me in towards him for a tight embrace. My arms automatically went around his back, squeezing myself as tight as I could into his chest. He smelled of coffee and paper showing he had come straight from work. I pulled back first, looking up into his brown eyes full of concern.

"How are you, Angel?" He asked, stroking a stray piece of hair behind my ear before bending down and giving me a soft kiss on the lips.

"Better now that you're here." He held me again for a few moments, letting him be the one to break it apart second time round.

"How's Sam?"

"Griffin's with her. She's been in her room ever since and she won't talk to me. I'm worried she'll regress again -go back to how she was. Especially now she knows that the guy who did that to her is walking a free man."

"I'm sure she'll be fine. We'll make sure to put him behind bars again, I promise." He held my gaze with his, silently showing his devotion to put him right back where Heath belongs and protect us. Our conversation was interrupted with Griffin's appearance in the doorway.

"You can start by telling us how the hell he got out." He said, his hands behind his back. It took me a second to realise what he was doing, and at the sight of her brown hair, I felt a flood of relief.

"Sam!" I exclaimed, throwing myself at her. I stopped just in time so that I didn't touch her. When she saw me stop, she looked slightly guilty and gave me a weak smile before wrapping her arms around my shoulders. I hugged her back instantly, hoping that it would open up some kind of connection that would let all of my reassuring thoughts flow into her. Meanwhile, my head was telling me how much I loved Griffin at that moment. I mouthed a "thank you" to him over her shoulder which he took with a gentle nod.

Sam, me, Griffin and Hunter all managed to get at least one mug of coffee down us and Sam and I shared one of the deli sandwiches Hunter had brought on his way over. It was tuna and salad but I couldn't taste enough of it to tell the difference.

"He got out because of the lack of evidence." Hunter explained.

"Lack of evidence?" I jumped first. "I gave my testimony! He admitted everything to me!"

"That's your word against his. There's not enough DNA evidence to put him as the attacker."

Sam sat silently between me and Griffin on the couch. I hated to talk about it right in front of her but she insisted she listened too and there was no way I could manage to keep my anger under control.

"But he even tried to grab me at the hospital. Does that not count for anything?" I knew my voice was becoming almost hysterical, but you couldn't blame me for being panicked. When a violent serial rapist gets a taste for murder and targets you after almost killing your best-friend, you're allowed to be hysterical.

"Heath's dad is a powerful man. He pulled strings and got him some top-class lawyers who managed to put enough doubt on the evidence to force bail. Heath's free until trial."

"If he was smart he would be long gone out of the country by now." Griffin said.

"He's a psychopath!" I exclaimed. "Why does nobody see that?"

"We see it." Hunter said with a calm voice, somewhat trying to make me see reason aside from the red covering my vision. "It's just those lawyers bending the law. As soon as trial comes, he'll be sentenced as guilty and sent to a maximum security prison. Or worse." meaning the death penalty.

"I choose 'or worse'."

A hand set on mine, beckoning my eyes to my side. Sam gave me a reluctant smile. "Don't worry." She said. "I choose the same."

I smiled back.

"I think we all would." Griffin added.

"And until the trial comes," Hunter continued. "We'll keep you safe. There's also been assigned some police protection as well. They'll keep an eye on you from the outside."

"Your good catch-unmarked police protection?"

"I told you. It's because I was looking for them last time."

"Well, I would feel happy even if they had the sirens and flashing lights and all."

"I would be surprised if you were able to get any sleep from that." Griffin joked, and the rest of us laughed in response- even Sam. Tension in the room had faded by a degree, leaving us all calmer and exhausted.

Griffin went home for the night, promising to return first thing tomorrow at eight and was handed one of the spare keys to the door. I wondered how he would manage to get through the ten thousand bolts and chains I had installed on the door.

Hunter stayed over and we all decided to get some sleep. Sam fell asleep in her room first with me at her side, and once she was gone I returned to my own room where Hunter was waiting for me.

Slipping under the sheets in my pajamas, I pressed myself against his warm chest in comfort. Strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer. He placed several kissed on the top of my head, brushing his hands through my hair in silence until sleep finally seized me.

The next morning came with the whistle of the kettle and the crisp scent of coffee rousing me from my bed. I still looked tired and disheveled but I didn't have enough caffeinated fuel left in me to make an attempt on my appearance.

Walking into the kitchen, I met the curious gazes of Sam and Griffin. Sam handed me a mug of coffee giving me a quick look up and down. "Not awake yet?"

"Not until I have my coffee." I took pleasure in the moist air hitting my face before downing at least half of the rich black goodness. I had trained Sam well.

Griffin passed a bagel over to me which I took and shuffled into one of the chairs at the breakfast bar besides Sam. Griffin stood up on the other end, still looking at me with vague amusement. "Where's Hunter?" I mumbled through my stuffed mouth. He was gone when I had woken up and didn't appear to be hiding anywhere in the apartment.

"He had to go back to work. He's talking to his superiors about what happened with Heath." Griffin grumbled, obviously uncomfortable referring to that monster by a name. I was pretty certain he and I alike could come up with far more creative terms to call him.

"The quicker he's behind bars the better." Sam added before turning to me. "Are you going to work?"

"Yeah."

"What?" Griffin interjected. "Why are you going to work? Don't you think it's best to stay here?"

"I can't just stay in here and wait for Heath to have his trial and go behind bars where he belongs. I have to work and pay the bills. Marty's relying on me you know."

"Can't you call her and explain the situation?"

"I can't. She's on holiday with her husband in Barcelona at the moment. Someone has to tend to the shop."

"But-" He turned to look to Sam for help but she looked as defeated as him.

"Thanks for the concern, Griff." I said, waving my half-eaten bagel in the air before heading back to my room.

It didn't take me long to get ready, settling for jeans and a wool jumper after considering the creeping bitterness of winter making its way down from the north. I tied my hair up in a ponytail, unable to muster any more effort for something extra.

When I passed through the living room, a figure stepped in my way. Griffin.

"Are you absolutely sure you have to go to work today?" He asked, concern all over his face. Obviously he hated the idea of leaving me alone where I couldn't be protected by him, especially with a psychopathic killer on the loose.

"Yes."

"Hunter asked me to look after you."

"And he asked you to look after Sam."

"I am looking after Sam?" His look became confused.

"You can't look after us both if we're at two different places." I said, in the hopes he may give up. I had my phone in my hand, ready to patch a call to the men downstairs to tell them where I was going. They would probably have a second car and one would follow me. Hunter left me the number on the bedside table along with the instructions to call them if I needed to go on an 'errand' anywhere if Griffin couldn't. Going to work wasn't exactly an errand, but I didn't feel the need to call Hunter for specifics. It would be a lot harder to slip out of his grip than it would be Griffin's.

"You're right." He said. He looked thoughtful.

"Then we'll go with you." A voice appeared behind me. Oh no. Sam stood, ready and dressed for the day, study books in hand. I couldn't believe it. They were teaming up on me! Somehow, I felt betrayed.

"But-"

"We're going with you." Sam repeated with a cautioned tone warning me not to defy her. As it turned out, it was my turn to be defeated. I gave Sam a rueful look before dropping my keys into my bag and turning to Griffin.

"Fine. But you're driving."

Griffin looked happy with his win, giving Sam a prideful gaze before collecting our bags from us, unlocking the door and holding it open. "This way ladies," He bowed.

Work was somewhat pleasant. There was only me and a few other part-timers on shift today and with the bitter cold and upcoming exams, there were floods of university and college students alike. Sam and Griffin stayed in the corner booth drinking coffee and studying. Well, Sam was. The attack had happened during the exam period and she hadn't been able to take the tests she needed to pass. A few strings were pulled and looking at her circumstances, the university allowed her to take them during the next semester after a direct call to the exam board explaining the situation. Griffin was helping her out with her studies on the basis I keep them both provided with muffins and coffee. I was more than happy to help out.

It was almost eight by the time my work shift had come to an end, and most of the part-timers had gone home for the day, leaving me to clear the last tables. The shop would be open for about another half an hour and it was still alive with the usual coffee-addicts coming for their fix before time ran out. Outside was already dark as the windows indicated, showing the faint signs of illuminated city life on the other side of the glass.

I had a coffee sat under the counter for me and took a big mouthful before I noticed someone approaching the counter. "What will it be?" I asked, reading my hands on the hot water and picking up a coffee cup.

"You." My blood ran cold when I recognised the voice. My heart felt like a rock in my chest, my lungs unable to cooperate properly to form a breath, my muscles tensing to the point it hurt. I wasn't sure I dared look up, but my eyes betrayed me, wanting to find proof that it wasn't true.

Under the hood of a thick blue jumper, was no one other than Heath Varbeck. My eyes instantly flickered to Sam and Griffin in the booth. I wanted nothing else than to scream, but before I had chance, Heath seized my wrist with enough force to bruise.

"Sh!" Heath uttered, pressing a finger to his lips. "Surely, you don't want Sam to see us." That was right. I couldn't let Sam see him, if she did I wasn't sure what would happen to her. Would she scream? Cry? Breakdown? Those were all better options than if she were to do nothing. I would rather her cry everyday than say nothing at all. Last time was difficult enough for both of us. I couldn't let it happen for a second time.

I swallowed down as much as my fear as I could, twisting my gut to the point I almost felt sick. His words in the parking lot came back to me, his verbal presentation of how he wanted to brutally rape and kill me.

"What the hell do you want?" I hissed, trying to sound confident in an attempt to cover up the absolute terror burning through me. He wouldn't try anything in this shop. There were too many witnesses. There were police outside. Griffin and Sam were right there. What the hell was I thinking? I was trying to apply reason to a psychopath. I wasn't sure what Heath's limits were, if he had any at all, but a public display seemed far from them.

A small smile turned on his lips. "I already told you, Everleigh. I want you." He almost whispered, his cold eyes not hinting a fragment of compassion. I flinched. At my movement, his hand clamped down tighter on my wrist making me give a small whimper of pain which only made his smile grow. "Now that's a nice expression you've got there. I'll be making sure to see more of it in the future."

He let go of my wrist and turned, heading towards the door. Griffin looked up just at that moment, catching eyes with him just as he turned. Griffin was up from his seat in a flash, startling Sam from her sleep. He didn't stop to reassure her, flying straight to the door Heath just closed behind him.

Everything after that seemed like a blur. Griffin returned along with our police detail after they lost sight of Heath around the next block. Sam looked horrified after she realised what happened, and I didn't know what I looked like. I must have been absolutely shocked when Griffin came rushing over to me, frantic about how I looked like I was about to passed out. At that moment, I felt like I could have. Heath had openly walked into the shop unnoticed, and made a threat on my life before leaving unscathed and uncaught. The police questioned the other customers in the shop, but they hadn't even noticed him. The cameras didn't even catch anything other than a figure in a blue hooded jumper.

Sam -almost as stunned as I was- sat beside me with a cup of coffee in our hands. I had forgotten all about my wrist until I mentioned Heath grabbing it to Griffin. It was swollen with black and blue marks from where his fingers had gripped me. An ice patch was put around my wrist and I was abandoned in one of the booths.

I felt frozen and hazy in my seat, feeling that what had happened was surreal, almost like a dream, (or rather nightmare), until a certain someone walked through the door. Hunter.

He looked annoyed and it was only amplified the second he caught eyes with me, marching straight from the door to the booth like a war god going into battle. For a moment, I thought he was about to burst into screams and shouts at how stupid I was for going to work, but he didn't. Instead his arms came around me, pulling into a hug so tight, I could barely breathe.

"I'm so sorry, Angel." He whispered into my hair, planting frantic kisses over the top of my head. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here to protect you."

And just like that, my surreal world shattered and the truth set in. Tears poured from my eyes and I let the fear consume me.


	2. Chapter 22

Back for You  
><span>2. Chapter 22

_'Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings'_** – **_Robert Bloch_

Drinking in the warm of Hunter's body, I stayed wrapped up in his arms in Higher Yearning, telling Hunter's FBI colleagues what happened and what Heath had said to me. Hunter went tense a few moments through it, but cuddled me close in consequence.

Once it was all over, Griffin took Sam back in his car with Hunter and me in tow. He stayed silent all the way, and I didn't say a word back.

Griffin said he would stay the night and keep an eye on Sam, having mostly come around after the attack on her confidence. Seeing Heath again brought back all the unpleasant memories she was trying to overcome. And after what he had just managed to do with so much ease, Sam wasn't sure how she could regather her safe feelings. Neither could I.

Hunter brought me to my room and only left me for a minute to get me an ice pack. The ice patch I was given at the shop had gone warm, the chemical reactions in it having ran out. He wrapped up the ice in his shirt, and set it on my wrist, assessing the five lines of bruises.

"I'm sorry." I uttered, finding that they were the only words I could say.

Hunter looked surprised at me, snapping his head up to my face. I didn't need to look into a mirror to know how awful I looked with my smudged make-up, hair askew around my face, drowning in Hunter's huge jacket. They had taken my jumper for DNA evidence to match to Heath to prove I was telling the truth. It was almost comical how little faith there was in the world. After all, even my testimony was hearsay in the eyes of the court.

Hunter's expression softened, reaching up to brush his hand over my cheek. "Don't worry, Angel." He whispered, pulling me back into his arms. "There's nothing to be sorry for." He lifted up my legs and turned down the bed, putting us both in it and wrapping the thick winter sheets around us. "You need some rest."

"I'm sorry." I said again anyway. "Griffin was right; I shouldn't have gone to work." I had my throbbing wrist to show for it. "It was a stupid idea."

"You're right. It was stupid." Hunter replied, much to my surprise. "But I don't care about that now. As long as you're safe, it's fine."

A warm tingle buzzed through my body, making me notice how much I needed Hunter's reassurance. He would put Heath away before anything could happen to us. I was sure of it.

"What did your superiors say?" I asked, remembering the reason why he hadn't been there in the first place.

Hunter looked pained for a moment. "They can't bring him back in until trial. I managed to get it pushed up but..." his voice trailed off, laced with disappointment.

"How long until the trail?"

"Two weeks."

"That's pretty fast."

"It's not fast enough."

I was seemingly having no success in trying to reassure him and my depleted energy couldn't keep me going for long. I snuggled close to him, pressing my body against his shirtless chest. I brushed my fingers against the black tattoo on his chest..._forever,_ huh? That warm buzz floated through me again, recalling Hunter's explanation of the tattoo. It wasn't _'Forever' _but rather_ 'For-Ever'_.

"It's okay, I'm sure you'll get him." I said, feeling the dark clutches of sleep pulling me under. "I trust you." I heard Hunter say something in return but couldn't make out what it was. My eyes fell closed and sleep whisked me away.

The next morning I woke before Hunter and managed to slip out of bed without stirring him. I had woken up before anyone else, roused from sleep by nightmares. Heath face plagued me last night and I couldn't managed to get much sleep at all. But having Hunter's face meet me every time my eyes opened reminded me of how safe I was with him.

I and my neatly bandaged wrist were trying to make coffee to satisfy my withdrawal when the coffee cup slipped from the counter. I jerked my hand to catch it but recoiled in a second at the throb of the bruises. For a moment, I though the mug -my favourite mug- had met its fate. However, it was saved by a hand reacting in a flash with instincts as quick as lightening.

Hunter put the cup back on the kitchen counter, while I stared in awe at his amazing reflexes. "Ah, the Robin to my Batman." I declared.

"Shouldn't I be Batman?" Hunter countered, regarding me with amusement.

"Nope. It's Robin's duty to follow Batman and as I see it, you follow me. Besides, I'm a whole lot more mysterious."

"Do you have some secret cave somewhere that I don't know about?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm Batman." I gave my best Batman impression and honestly, I thought it was amazing, contrary to Hunter's pitying shake. He bowed his head down to my face and gave me a gentle, deep kiss.

"What was that for?" I murmured when he broke away. He kept his face close to mine, looking down into my eyes with a gaze that seemed to capture me.

"Good morning, Angel." He grinned.

"I told you. I'm Batman." I replied, adamant about my position.

"That's right. Then that means no more kisses."

"What?" I gasped, sounding devastated. "Why not?"

"I can't kiss Batman. That would be wrong. But if you were my Angel, I might-"

I cut him off with a kiss, wrapping my arms so tightly around his neck he had no way to escape. His lips came hard against mine with a passionate response, opening my mouth for entry for his tongue. When we broke, our lips were damp and eyes wild with desire.

"Angel?" Hunter smiled.

"Whatever." I sighed, defeated.

"Isn't it a bit early for that kind of thing?" A voice broke us apart. I saw Sam and Griffin stood in the doorway, clearly amused by the early kitchen antics.

"Never." I scoffed, and Sam replied with a smirk. She and I sat at the bar, watching as both men got to work with breakfast. I had been kicked out from the kitchen for my incompetence after almost dropping the coffee mug. Sam -my well trained protégé- took over the responsibility for the coffee.

"I'm guessing no work today?" Sam asked.

"Nope." I said waving my wrist in front of her making one of the bandages slip loose. She fixed it for me. We both were avoiding the real truth about not going out. After what happened, I don't think either of us had the confidence to even leave the safety of the apartment. "I suppose it's a girls' night in tonight."

"If you guys put a chick-flick on I swear I won't make it to the end sober." Griffin warned, the look of mock worry on his face.

"_The Notebook_ it is." Sam teased.

Everyone's effort of avoiding what happened yesterday came crashing down thanks to Hunter. His phone rang and the second he picked it up, he cast us all a look; it was about Heath. From the one side of the conversation we overheard, we only managed to catch a few things. Most of it was just a yes or no from Hunter. When he put the phone down, he looked grim.

"What?" I asked, unable to take the tension any longer.

"A girl was found this morning." Everyone went silent. We all knew what he meant -Sam was no longer Heath's last victim.

Hunter was called in and immediately left, leaving Griffin, Sam and me alone to drown in our despair. We tried putting on a movie but the colours just moved passed as insignificant blurs on the screen until Sam got annoyed and turned it off.

"I don't want to avoid the subject any longer."

Both Griffin and I wasn't sure what to do, and looked back and forth to each other like confused chickens.

"It was obviously Heath who attacked that girl. And by the sounds of it, she was killed too." Sam continued. "...I'm scared."

Both Griffin and I turned towards her in a flash. "Don't give me that pitiful look." She snapped before either of us could say anything. "I went through the most traumatic thing in my life because of Heath. I recovered from it. I'm not the same as I was, but I sure as hell am not going to give him the satisfaction of forever being hung up over it. Hunter, the FBI, NASA I don't care who does it, but someone will catch him and put him behind bars where he can rot in a cell for all his life. For that, we can manage two more weeks." It had been a long time since I had seen Sam rant so hard. Last time was when I spiralled out after my mother's death and continued to sulk for ages before Sam shoved me back on my feet.

Griff and I sat staring at her speechless. Sam was notorious for giving the hard truth straight out, not caring how blunt she was about it, unable to be delicate with things that aggravated her to the point of shouting, and at that moment, she seemed to glow. Ever since she had come back from the Phoenix centre I had been so careful around her and convinced myself Sam was as fragile as glass, but boy was I wrong. The girl who had been so wrapped up despair was once again as strong as stone, maybe not as she was before, maybe stronger, or maybe a little bit weaker, but my Sam was back nonetheless and that threatened to bring me to tears.

"I suppose I better go order a pizza then." Griffin chuckled as Sam dropped back down beside him with a huff. I scampered over to her side, catching her in a quick-attack hug. She was still irritated but it faded when she hugged me back.

"You can go get _Death-race _out now." Sam joked.

"What? No more of _The Notebook_?" Griffin whined from the doorway, earning him two blank stares. "Just kidding!" Griffin waved his hands in the air in surrender. "Please don't put it on again."

Both of us broke out into laughter as we sent Griffin to fetch the phone and take-out menu.

Take-out arrived in the arms of a beautiful, tired man sporting the sexy stubble face he always had on when I had first met him. "Delivery boy?" I teased, leaning seductively against the door frame. "How much is the tip?"

Hunter didn't seem at all amused as he clearly went on to state. "You shouldn't be joking after what happened this morning." I was painfully reminded of Hunter's breakfast call and felt immediately ashamed for trying to make light of it, though I had forgotten all about it when I had said the joke. Not that it was any excuse.

"You're right. I'm sorry." I said as he set the pizza down on the table. He gave another tired sigh before bending down for a kiss I gingerly supplied -hung up a little on my guilt. Hunter settled for a second kiss on my forehead.

"Sorry. It's just been a long day. Wait- why do you smell like alcohol?" His eyes bore down on me with the weight of both his curiosity and concern. Keeping it brief, I explained how our antics began with a movie before Sam ended up convincing Griffin to make different cocktails for us to try and test his skill.

At the end of the story, Hunter carried the pizza into the living room where Sam and Griffin sat on either side of a table covered in half-drunk cocktails. I recognised a few; grasshopper, sex on the beach, Cinderella, Martini, Pina Colada. Others were complete mysteries to me and I wondered if they were one of Griffin's own concoctions. I sat down besides the purple one I hadn't tried and took a sip. It was nice despite its unnerving swirl of colour and I felt the burn of vodka down my throat. Unfortunately, I wasn't a good as Sam at guessing the ingredients. She listed about six different drinks mixed in the one I had drunk, and got them all right.

Hunter shook his head at the two of us before sitting down besides Griffin.

"You got them drunk?"

"Hey, they're not that far gone yet." Griffin shrugged. "I thought they could do with a little winding down."

Hunter contemplated his thoughts on it for a moment before giving a defeated shake of his head, opening the pizza box and taking out the biggest slice.

"What's this one?" I asked, raising a slightly yellowish drink adorned with a lime and ice.

"Mai Tai." Hunter answered. "That one's easy."

"Like you could make a cocktail." I scoffed. To my surprise, Hunter took up the challenge.

He used the rest of whatever bottles we had Griffin bring by earlier and a few minutes later a deep pink drink in a Martini glass and a spiral of lemon zest sat on the table in front of us. I recognised it in a glance.

"Cosmopolitan!" I gasped. I had only had it once and the standards were set pretty high. I gave a weary eye to the drink before me, but at Sam's toast, I downed it. My memory was ruined. It wasn't like Hunter had created a drink that tainted the memory, in fact, he did the opposite. It was so nice that the one in my memory dulled in comparison.

"No way!" I exclaimed. "When did _you_ learn to make cocktail drinks?"

"I have my secrets." Hunter winked.

"Look who's being Batman now."

"Only if you'll be my Robin."

"Hey!" Sam interjected. "If you guys are Batman and Robin then I'm so being Cat-woman."

"In that case, I'm Joker." Griffin added.

"Why did you pick a villain? I thought we were all being the allies of justice?" Sam waved a glass in the air, spilling a bit of a Martini.

"Excuse me, but Cat-woman is shady enough as it is!" I barked.

"Well you and your mysterious Batman aren't the best good guys either. It's not like you're superman."

"I can be superman!"

"Dude, I think you just got dumped." Griffin nudged Hunter who responded with an outright laugh.

"In that case, I think I need another drink."

In the midst of our debate, I heard the call of the door and approached it with Hunter in tow. Through the peep hole, I saw the delivery boy carrying a box of Chinese food after Sam's appetite had turned eastern.

I struggled momentarily to undo the locks under the influence of drink, and Hunter stayed in the doorway finding it rather amusing. I cursed at him over my shoulder and opened the door. The kid looked a little petrified and I realised that our 'friends' downstairs must have checked him for anything suspicious. Poor kid. I handed him over a twenty and a ten tip which he happily accepted before running off as fast as light down and out the complex. I shrugged. You can't be too careful with a psychopath stalker coming for you. It had only been three days since his release and I doubted Heath was the patient type -not to mention yesterday's promise.

Hunter took the Chinese boxes out of my hands and went to go find forks, considering our feeble attempts with chop sticks weren't going to be part of tonight's entertainment. He dropped the receipt on the floor and I leaned down to pick it up, feeling a little dizzy when I righted myself. My wrist gave a slight throb as I used it to steady myself against the door. I looked down at the receipt, or what I thought was a receipt, which was actually a note. I wondered if the delivery boy had dropped it but realised that wasn't the case as soon as I opened it.

_'Dear Everleigh, It was great seeing you the other day and I was wondering when we should next get together. I told you I wanted to see that face again soon. Don't worry about Sam, I'm not the type to use something twice. I like to try the new things. Hence our plans. I know I don't have long left but, I can be patient if it involves getting what I want. And I always get what I want. I'll settle our unfinished business. See you soon. -H.V.'_

I wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or just the shock but I was suddenly all dizzy again and in threat of falling over if Hunter wasn't suddenly there behind me.

Hunter's face paled as he looked down over the note. He was moving in seconds, putting me in a seat, yelling something to Griffin and gone out the door before I knew it. I was left staring at the note in my hand, made only of paper but feeling as heavy as stone.

I was more surprised how he managed to fit so much onto such a small piece of paper until it occurred to me that he had once again managed to get his letter across without even so much of a wink of notice from our police protection. Sure it was only a note this time, but the message was the same; he can get to me.

Yet, I couldn't deny the amount of relief I felt when he relinquished his interest in Sam. I probably shouldn't have been happy that all his attention was focused on me, but it had plagued me day and night that he may be coming after her again. Now everyone knew it was him, maybe he really wasn't that bothered about tying up loose ends. And that also meant he wasn't going to use Sam as leverage to get to me. Maybe he didn't need too.

When Griffin finally took the note from my hands, it felt like a great weight had been lifted off me. And as I watched his eyes scan the words, I saw the weight fall onto his face instead. He made an attempt to hide it from Sam, but she snatched it free and read it before he could move.

She looked pale at the note, fear forming in her eyes. The only difference was, was that this time, the fear was all for me.

Hunter returned full of anger. He was covered in sweat and breathing heavily, having been running to chase down the delivery kid. His frustrations reached an all-time high as he realised the same thing I just had. Heath can get to me. When Hunter's fist struck the wall I was shocked out of my shock -as contrary as it seemed.

"Hunter!" I burst, vaulting up from my chair. I went straight over to him, snatching his fist from the wall. There were cracks in the plaster and his knuckles were split. Sam handed me a damp cloth and I pressed it over the wounds. "Stop getting mad and wrecking the house!"

"Sorry." He grumbled, looking down at me with calmer control. He didn't seem to move, cautious of his waning temper as I gently pressed the cloth to his raw skin, wiping away the blood. He let out a long breath that spoke words no one else could hear. "Sorry." he apologised again.

"I can't stand it!" Sam hissed, breaking our attention. "Why is it he can always get to you?" There was frustration and anger all over her face, looking as ready to punch something as Hunter did a moment ago. The same thought occurred to Griffin as he tried to cajole her into a chair which she refused. "Why isn't this enough evidence to put him back into jail? At least until his trial. It's only been three days and Ev's already been threatened_ twice_. A good load of shit your police force does!"

"Sam, calm down." Griffin tried, this time forcefully sitting her back in the chair.

"No!" She kicked the chair back behind her, breaking free of Griffin's hands and storming towards the door. "I'll get a gun and shoot him myself if I have to. I'm not going let it happen again! Not to Ev. I won't let him."

None of us could really tell if it was the drink talking or not, but neither Griffin nor Hunter was going to wait to find out. Before anyone commanded orders, Sam was airborne. She landed over Griffin's shoulder with a jerk, temporarily stunned. It gave him the precious seconds he needed to close the door and march down the hallway. Her shouts restarted a second before her bedroom door slammed shut.

Hunter and I looked down the hallway dumbfounded. Sam was recently seeming to become the surprise I always suspected her to be. The other two police officers looked uncomfortable after the scene, unsure on how to act upon it.

While I bandaged his hand, Hunter sent them off with furious orders to contact his superiors with tonight's incident and make actions happen fast, entrusting a named colleague of his to get the job done and take care of the note. He didn't go in himself, wanting to stay with me in case anything further was to occur.

After bandaging his hand, we debated whether or not we should check up on Sam and Griffin, but in the end we were too afraid to look behind the door and settled for cleaning up the collection of glasses set out on the table.

When I finished wiping down the table, Hunter sat on the couch with a heavy sigh. His eyes watched me with an intensity that made the hairs on my neck stand.

"What?" I said after a moment, somewhat liking how his stare made me tingle; maybe I was some kind of masochist.

"We match." He said, raising his bandaged hand.

"It wouldn't be the first time." I waved my in return before falling onto the couch beside him. He lifted an arm and wrapped it around my shoulders, providing a comfort I felt might swallow me whole. Hunter was silent for a moment, something obviously playing on his mind. Apparently, he felt the need to voice it.

"Why are you so calm?"

"Calm? I'm far from it." I said, knowing what he was referring to.

"You're handling it better than I thought you would."

"What do you think about it?"

"Me?" Hunter exclaimed, as if what I said was almost a joke. "I feel like doing all sorts of things to him that he would think death would be a gift."

For a moment, I thought he was kidding, but when I noticed his tone, I saw he was all serious.

"Well, I'd rather not having a boyfriend behind bars." I snuggled closer, feeling slightly lonely in just his arms.

"Don't worry. If I was going to do it, I'd bury the body."

"I feel like we need to re-discuss who's Batman and who's Joker."

A small chuckle came from his lips, just brushing my ear. Electricity flash through every nerve on my right side, leaving me with a gooey warmth. His voice turned into a kiss on my cheek, his hand resting on my hip. I let out an involuntary moan as he shifted me onto his lap. Hunter's face turned hungry and at the same time, amused at my small outburst. Once again, the tension was pulled away by his thoughts.

"Seriously though." He said. "You know Heath's targeting you but you're so calm its creepy."

"Creepy? That's really what you want to call it?"

"You know what I mean."

It became my turn to sigh, turning my gaze back onto his. I could see the worry creasing between his brow and felt a little shame in trying to make light of it. My arms reached out around his shoulders, lifting myself up on his sturdy frame to give him a small kiss. It was quick but he didn't pull away. "Maybe it's because I happened to be head over heels for this Kung-Fu master guy I know." He raised his eyebrows at the 'Kung-fu master' part but continued with my role-play anyway.

"Oh yeah?" He said, keeping me interested as I gave him another teasing kiss.

"Yeah. He's so big and strong and I completely trust him." I said. "That's why I know you won't let anything happen to me." He didn't seem to notice my change from third person, but either way I didn't think it mattered. Hunter had stopped and was looking down on me with a gaze that could melt the world, and right then, it was melting mine- mind and body alike.

"Sometimes I fear you trust me too much, Angel." He murmured, finally caving in to the atmosphere. He reached down and pressed his lips against mine, answering my cravings for his attention. I wanted to tell him that I could never trust him too much, but my body couldn't hold out any longer. My hips buckled and I fell prey to Hunter's passion as well as my own lustful desires.


	3. Chapter 23

Back for You  
><span>3. Chapter 23<span>

**'**_The best way to lie is to tell the truth . . . carefully edited truth.' -Unkown_

Things passed silently as the week continued to move on, bringing us into the second week after Heath's arrest. I wondered if he'd given up, and escaped the country. Then I would recall the note, and felt doubtful. Maybe I was wrong before -maybe Heath really was a patient guy. Yet as the days grew closer and closer to the trial, I began to feel anxious. The less time he had to act, the more pressured he'd feel to do something. Maybe anxious was too subtle for what I was feeling -paranoia suited it better. Then again, after being cooped up our tiny apartment for two weeks, you can image how hard it was not to go stir crazy.

The FBI had tried to use the note as cause to bring Heath back into custody, but once again, Heath's lawyers threw that back in their face with its ambiguity. With no name (other than a initials that could belong to anyone) or specifics relating to Heath in the note, there was no way to prove it was him. The kid didn't know who gave him the note either, and Heath had gotten away. Again.

I had heard nothing on the news about Heath's release and Hunter had said the higher ups had wanted to keep it quiet so that there wouldn't be a public panic. After his first arrest it had been the hottest topic in the media, and fortunately Sam's name was never released and we were never bothered by reporters or anything of the sort.

I couldn't wait until Heath's trial was over and he would finally be put behind bars once and for all - 'or worse' as previously discussed. Either way, Heath would get what he deserved. And I would finally get to return to my beloved part time job. With my house arrest, I had to leave the shop in the hands of the part-time worker with the longest seniority and skill which happened to be Lucy, an undergrad studying for her university exams. She was young but capable enough at seventeen to run a coffee shop. We also took her studying into consideration and had the shop hours reduced from 9am until 5pm, and kept the shop closed on Sundays. High Yearning had two more days to go before I could happily go back and fulfil my dire need to be near coffee twenty-four-seven.

I was called back to the world with Griffin's summon for dinner. Sam and Griffin cooking together made a lethal pair. They squabbled constantly in the kitchen over how to cook something and I had to give credit to Griffin for being able to stand up to Sam so easily. I, on the other hand, valued my life and knew not to mess with her when it came to food. But even in the wake of their fighting, they somehow made a masterpiece of gourmet. Take out food could only go so far. I was sure I had gained a good couple of pounds just sitting around and eating these past two weeks. Of course, my Krav Maga training didn't go amiss either. Hunter taught me new tricks when he came by to satisfy my boredom -among other solutions. I also managed to get Griffin to pair up with me, and Sam who fell prey to her own inactivity, joined in too.

Soon it became one day and my anticipation wouldn't let me sit still. I must have had two showers that day, organised the coffee pots eight times and actually cleaned the apartment -something I don't do very often. Sam sat on the couch with Griffin, both seeming content enough to watch me whiz around doing all sorts to keep me from exploding.

"Do you think it's finally happened?" Sam nudged Griffin.

"Yup. Definitely crazy."

"That's mean." I growled, dropping down onto the couch beside them. I put my feet up onto Sam's lap and she undid a bottle of nail polish for my toes. "See! I can sit still."

"Your mouth is exempted from that, I assume." Sam countered.

"Hey!" I cried, offended.

"Stay still or you're going to have red toes." Sam's eyes stared at my feet in concentration, making sure not to get any on my skin.

"It's true, Ev. When you haven't been moving around, you're mouth's been making up for it." Griffin added.

"Do you ever take my side anymore?"

"Sorry, Batman, but I'm not your Robin."

"Seriously, is anyone ever going to let that go?"

"Nope." Sam answered.

I sighed, resting my head back against the pillow. I looked over at the clock on the wall; 2:45pm. Hunter wouldn't be back for another half an hour or so, depending on how long his supervisors planned to keep him at work. He had been helping amass the evidence against Heath for his trail and his undercover experience was of vital importance in the case against him. In the end, all I was left with was nothing to do except watch the romance bloom in the house. I have no idea what happened, but after that night when Griffin slung Sam over his shoulder and took her to her room, she had suddenly warmed up to him and apparently his feelings. Though I knew it was far from love on Sam's part, and she was still cautious after everything she went through, I noticed she was making progress. All of it seemed to make Griffin constantly walk around the house with a grin on his face saying he would be satisfied if he died right there and then. He would probably end up dying of too much heart throbbing.

Before I realised it, I had dozed off. I awoke with a start at two loud bangs from outside. "What the hell was that?" I yelped, throwing myself to my feet in a flash. Sam had fallen asleep next to me and had jumped up the same time I had. Everything in my body was screaming bad and a sick sense of dread crawled over my skin.

"Griffin!" Sam yelled. Griffin's big body filled the door frame in a second, looking as white as snow. I didn't say anything and by the look on his face, I already knew it wasn't good.

"Ev, get Hunter on the line." He said, his voice low and devoid from any emotion.

"Wh-"

"Now, Ev!" He snapped. I didn't need telling twice. I fumbled my phone from my pocket and hit one on speed-dial. It was on its second ring when the next bang went off. This time it was closer and louder, and followed by the sound of broken chains scattering across the kitchen floor.

Griffin's body suddenly pressed in front of us, keeping us between the wall and his back in a defensive stance. Hunter finally picked up and upon hearing his voice on the receiver, Griffin snatched it out of my hands.

"Hunter get here now!" He snapped in a hushed tone. "Heath's here."

I felt my blood run cold all over again. The same shortness of breath, the same thud of my heart, the same ache in my muscles, all rendering my body lifeless. But none of that compared to the level of panic and fear that rushed through me with every sound of his footsteps growing closer. Or so I thought.

When Heath materialised in the doorway, his bulk figure swallowing the light, with his cold eyes, and his confident smile, I realised there was no more fear than seeing him in that moment, because Heath, unlike before, had a gun.

It hung loosely by his side, carelessly swinging it with his arm like some kind of toy. He leaned against the doorway with his eyebrows raised in amusement. "If it's not one of my used playthings and her toy nutcracker." He mused, glaring at Griffin with a threatening smile. When his eyes moved from his face towards Sam, Griffin immediately placed himself in between them, hiding the rest of her behind his back.

"Don't you dare touch her." Griffin growled. Heath, despite his twisted personality, still held a youth about him that cowered in front of an intimidating figure such as Griffin. He had landed his fist against his face before and was not afraid to do it again, ignoring the complication of the gun. I could see how much he wanted to walk straight over to him and beat the crap out of him, but that also meant exposing us and Griffin wasn't prepared to do that, not when it was a sociopath carrying a gun.

"Oh, I haven't come for her." He grinned, not phased by Griffin's intimidation. Along with his gun, he seemed to have brought more confidence.

He looked to me, still stunned in the same spot I was when he walked in. My wrist began to throb with a hot and cold ache as I unconsciously cowered closer to Griffin. It turned out to be a bad move.

Heath lifted the gun and fired. I screamed in surprise, ducking my head between my arms at the same time I felt Griffin tense. My ears rang and my shaking hands slowly lowered as I looked up at Griffin's body. He hadn't quivered or even flinched at the sound of the gun, and remained inhumanely still.

I turned back to look at Heath, his smile was twisted with satisfaction, giving me the cold shock of realisation.

I was a moment too late in figuring it out and as soon as I turned, Griffin's body staggered. I immediately reacted, catching his shoulders just quick enough to slow down his fall. "Griffin!" I yelled, shifting him from above me so his body laid flat. There wasn't as much blood as I saw in the movies but I wasn't stupid enough not to know he had been seriously injured. A circle of red slowly spread over his shoulder at a fast enough rate to make my hands go numb. "Griffin!" I yelled again, slapping both my hands against his face.

A few seconds later, his eyes flickered open looking momentarily dazed. Relief rushed through me at the sight of his eyes, no matter how confused they seemed. Griffin was alive. Tears flooded my eyes and I let out a sob of joy.

"Damn, you guys are harder to kill than I thought." Heath voice snapped me back to my reality. His boots moved fast across the distance of the room and I immediately threw myself protectively over Griffin's body. Just as I did, I noticed the real direction he was moving.

"Sam!" I yelled, again too late. Heath reached forwards and grabbed a handful of her hair and dragged her against him. She let out a startled scream, snapping out of her shock at Griffin.

"Let go of her, you bastard!" Griffin growled and shoved himself back up, regardless of the pain. It must have been the adrenalin in his veins numbing the pain of his wound as he staggered to his feet. Heath didn't hold back even as the man came charging forwards.

Heath lifted his hand again and fired two more shots. Griffin's body stopped mid-step and this time, I saw the red bleed through the back of his shirt a few seconds before his body fell once more. I didn't say or do anything, staring at Heath with mindless fear. If I moved, he would hurt Sam. If I didn't move, Griffin was more than likely going to die.

It seemed Heath noticed my thoughts and shoved Sam with enough force for her to fall against the floor. She scrambled over to Griffin, throwing herself over him like I had just moments ago. Heath turned his gun down to her head and she froze. Heath looked to me and I knew what he was asking me to do. Choose: Me or Sam.

My body had made my choice before I had, and had walked within his reach by the time I realised what I was doing. Heath's thick hands clamped my bruised wrist making me yelp in pain and twisted it so tightly around my back I became incapable of moving. So much for Krav Maga.

"Ev-" Sam began, moving an inch too far for Heath's comfort. The cold barrel of the gun hit the side of my head so hard my neck jerked to the side.

"If you follow us so much as one inch, I'll blow her brains out." He warned. Sam's eyes flashed back to my face. There was nothing I or she could do. It wasn't like in the movies where the friend at gun point put up a brave smile that said 'everything was going to be okay' because I wasn't sure it was going to be okay, all I could do was walk as Heath silently pushed me out of the door.

Heath led me through a maze of twists and turns of my apartment complex, moving round the corners of the routes he'd made sure to memorize. We came out on something like the second floor when he approached the room three floors directly below mine. He turned the gun again and fired it at the lock before kicking it open with ease. He kept his gun to my head, warning me not to start shouting or else he would shoot me first and fuck me afterwards. Actually, death then rape seemed like a preferable option to the other way round. Yet, I remained silent, a part of me betraying me with the hope that I may survive -a belief I highly doubted.

He opened the window, making sure not to loosen grip on me even as he shoved me though it and onto the fire escape. It was funny because even I didn't know we had a fire escape. Though I was curious as to why that was on my thoughts in such a situation. Shouldn't I be having my life flash before my eyes? Reliving even the most embarrassing moments of my meager life span? Why did I always think of the trivial things in serious situations? Maybe that was how I dealt with it. I wondered if Griffin was okay and thought Sam might have gotten hold of Hunter again, letting him know Heath had gotten what he wanted. I wondered what his reaction would be when they find my body tomorrow morning, left in the way my body ought to be after Heath was done with it. I wouldn't survive like Sam did, I'm sure Heath wouldn't make the same mistake again.

We reached the bottom of the fire escape in an alleyway round back and approached a black Mercedes Bendz (probably his dads, since his was still held in the FBI compound as evidence) which I found comical; I was about to be brought to the place of my death in such an expensive style.

I heard the sound of a car screeching to stop in the parking lot on the other side of the building, making me think for a second that it might have been Hunter's car. Hope suddenly flooded me and I opened my mouth to scream. Heath gave me no chance to, grabbing my head and slamming it against the car before I made a sound.

When my consciousness came to, I managed to hear the faint sounds of a car engine over the pounding of my headache. It was dark and once I confirmed my eyes were open, I suspected I was in the boot of the car. When thought managed to break through the dizzying sickness of my mind (I was tempted to let myself throw up, and let his dad's car rot and stink for all I care, but didn't when I realised I didn't know how much longer I would be in there and didn't want to be swimming in my own vomit for God knows how long.) several questions arose. How long had we been driving? Did anyone see us leave? Does Hunter know I'm gone yet? What about Griffin? Sam? Where they all okay? Did they manage to get Griffin to surgery? I didn't want to think of the negatives of what happened, I wanted to hope that Griffin was recovering in the closest hospital with Sam safely at his side, unharmed. And as for Hunter, I hoped he was in his car right now coming for me with the force of the universe behind him.

Truth be told, I didn't want to die. I wasn't sure if my earlier resolve was because of my momentary weakness, shock, or was just a release for my fear. There was too much going on in my head to find out. But now I was calmer, no gun in sight, I realised I didn't want to be that helpless little girl waiting to be rescued. I had to make my escape and get back to Hunter by my own strength. I was not going to let Sam, or Hunter, or even Griffin down. I would get away and give my statement to the police with Sam and Griffin, and Heath would get the death penalty. There was no maybe about it. Not this time.

I tried to come up with several plans of attack but from the binds on my wrist, I would be having a hard time doing much. My feet were unbound, and I tried kicking the headlight to break without causing the car to shake and rouse Heath's suspicions. Once again, my movie experience wasn't on my side and couldn't manage to break through. I did however, stop one of them from working, though if it was still daytime, that didn't really matter.

The rest of my strategies involved waiting until Heath stopped the car and came to collect me. Since the rest of my break-out-the-boot attempts were negligible, I gave up and settled for trying to figure out where we were. If I managed to escape from Heath, I would have to try find my way back or to the nearest house so I could make a call. There had been little sign of other cars for a while and the once square streets of downtown had turned into smooth bends and hills. I was no longer in the city. The faint tree smell I could taste over the taste of my own blood -having recently discovered my head was bleeding along with my wrist that was sprained at best- I realised we must be near some densely forested area. Once again I recalled Heath's boasting to me in the parking lot of the hospital, recalling each detail of what he planned to do with me- what he_ would _do to me if I couldn't escape.

After another twenty minutes or so and another eighty miles, the car finally pulled on the main road, jumping along something like a dirt path. Snaps of twigs and branches let me know we had pulled into the forest. I tried to take mental notes of the turns we made for my approaching escape.

When the engine eventually died, my heart jerked to a stop along with it. I curled up into a ball, laying limp against my binds. Action one of my plan; feign sleeping. Heath would probably wait until I wake up before trying anything -supported by his desire to see my face twisted in pain, which was pretty much what got him up nowadays. I hated to speak of it so clinically but I feared panic would seize me if I tried to take it too personally.

I heard the slam of Heath's door and convinced my body to relax as much as it could. Thank god Heath wasn't very observant or else he would have noticed the flinch of my body as the boot popped open. Bitter air rushed over my skin, raising goosebumps on every part of exposed flesh. It held the damp scent of rotting leaves and forest pines, and I realised we had driven deep within the forest's landscape. Big hands clamped around the bottoms of my feet and pulled them out over the edge of the car before reaching to pull my arms. Part two: bust free. I kept my eyes closed, scared my panic will arise again at the sight of his face, and lifted my legs in a flash. Heath stepped back in surprise, but not far enough as my feet came crashing down on his jaw, knocking him backwards.

I wasted no time in squirming the rest of my body out of the car and turned to the forest covered hill in an instant.

Before I could break away, I felt the painful slam of the car again. Heath pressed my body into the car, tangling my legs between his. I fought to shake the fluttering darkness away and met his face. He hadn't fallen down when I kicked him but I at least expected to get further than out the car before he caught up with me -not that I would have let him. A happy smirk pulled on his lips, feeling pleased at his quick capture at my escape. I wouldn't let him have the satisfaction. Not yet.

I pulled one leg free of his and rammed my knee upwards with as much force as I could muster. It wasn't exactly Krav Maga, but being kneed in the balls was still painful -so I've been told.

Heath staggered backwards and I broke into a sprint the second I was free. The panic I was holding off caught up with me and poured adrenalin into my veins. I ran and ran, the sea of trees passing like a blur under my heavy feet. My ankle ached and I wondered If I had sprained it, but didn't slow down to find out.

About thirty seconds into my run I heard the sound of following footsteps coming up fast. Heath was an athlete and unlike me, he was tall and had long legs. I doubt I could outrun him but I had to try at least.

A few seconds later he was on my heels. He shouldn't have caught up that soon; I was running for dear life and yet he was hounding down on me in less than five. That's when the pain set in. My head pounded on the back of my skull, sending me lurching forwards. A tide of dizziness swept in around me and I dangled on the edge of consciousness.

My run came to an end with my collapse against a tree, along with the sharp snaps of frail branches bracing my fall. Rough hands dragged me up again by the hair and I yelped at the pull of my heavily wounded scalp. I felt the warm path of blood slowly trickle down my face and onto my lip. I tasted the metallic drop and felt panic rise in my body. My head was bleeding from where I got my skull slammed against the car- _Twice_. Concussions can kill and I sure as hell hoped my brain wasn't too badly damaged; the head that had gotten me out of that situation was the same one that put me back in.

All that panic stopped, replace with anger and fear at the sight of two faces blurred out in front of me. It turned out to be one face, one with a bruise lining the edge of his jaw. I didn't get much chance to feel satisfaction in the fact that I had actually managed to bruise him, because the look on his face happily told me I had failed. My chance to escape was foiled by my injuries and I was left to his mercy.

"Finished with your little temper tantrum?" Heath grinned, wiping the blood on my face away with his thumb, bringing it up to his lips and sucking it clean. My stomach churned and I felt like I was going to be sick. Which I was a moment later. I tried to aim for Heath but he managed to dodge my vomit with a side step, still managing to keep a tight clamp on my hair.

"Fuck you." I murmured, finding my words slurred, wondering if the taste in my mouth was stomach acid or blood. I would have been swaying if Heath wasn't keeping me upright by my hair.

"Not me, babe." He purred. "It's going to be me fucking you."

I turned my eyes on him in a flash, hearing his words plague me again. Heath was going to brutally rape and kill me now. He must of liked the expression on my face because his smile broadened and he grabbed me by my bad wrist, making me cry in pain, and dragged me against him. I felt the hard butt of the gun in his waistline against my spine but that wasn't the only thing digging into my back.

"You're a sick bastard." I hissed.

"Lucky you." He said, grinding his front against my back with a hollowed laugh. I tried to break free but I could barely move in his grip with the little strength I could muster. It was taking all my energy just to stay awake and keep the throbbing ache of my head from taking over. At one point, I thought I might have been able to get the gun from his belt but as I made my attempt he pulled it out and pointed it against my ass.

"Is this what you want, baby?" He teased, running the tip down between my legs.

"Get off me!" I snapped, trying to break free even harder. Heath seemed to struggle for a moment but the solution was quickly found as he pressed my front against the tree, using his weight to keep me pinned. I was in an unfavourable position and this time there was no way for me to give him another shot between the legs.

Heath pulled the gun away and brought it to his lips. I really wished it had accidentally gone off at that very moment. But it didn't, and he safely planted a kiss on the side before drawing it across my cheek. It felt warmth on my skin and the damp lips Heath had placed on it, wiped saliva onto my face. I wanted to be sick again but found their was nothing left to bring up. I settled for a dry heave to which Heath chuckled.

"Don't worry, angel. I'm going to make you feel good soon." He chuckled. The fact he used the nickname Hunter normally called me by made me furious and I threw my head back, feeling the contact on bone and the faint sound of something breaking.

Heath cried out in pain, releasing my weak body to collapse against the tree. I tried to pull myself up to my feet or even to my knees so I could try get away, but I had no more energy. My arms reached forwards and pulled on the tree, barely dragging me and inch to my right.

After all my crazy scheming and plotting to escape, having no strength to actually move wasn't something I accounted for. There was no solution to it. I was simple stuck and after the blow I just gave Heath, I could only face my oncoming death. Death then rape it was. And I was right.

When I turned back to face Heath, slumping back the scratchy bark of the forest pines, he held one hand over his nose. It was crooked in an awkward position, and I thought I must have broken it which made me somewhat happy before I looked to his other hand. He held the gun he'd taken out of his trousers and pointed it level to my head. I looked across at him where he stood a few feet away, covering up the blood running over his chin with his hand, blue eyes ablaze with fury as they stared at me. I knew he wasn't planning to say anything else to me, no request for any death wishes, no goodbye, no good luck in the next world movie quote. Nothing. I was going to die at the sound of his gun, if I was around long enough to here it.

I wasn't sure if it was the shock, or the adrenalin at the thought of my death seconds away from me, but my senses suddenly took in everything; the bitter breeze on my skin, the scent of pine cones and evergreens, the sharp points of the bark I leaned on digging into my back, the moist forest floor between my finger nails, the rustling of falling leaves, the faint trickles of a nearby river, the bird fluttering and tweeting in the sky. I felt it all. I wondered how useless it was for my brain to finally show me the beauty of the world seconds before I would be snatched away from it. Maybe if I had them during my life I would have been a little more appreciative of the earth, recycled a little more, donated money to charity and opened doors for old ladies.

My thoughts processed everything in just a few seconds as I once again felt disappointment at how different the movies were from life. I wasn't calm in the face of death, I wasn't giving some last speech to everyone, telling them to live on in the wind like it may carry the message to them. I was scared. Tears were running down my cheeks, my hands tightened into balls, my heart heavy in my chest. "I don't want to die." I whimpered just as the gun went off.


	4. Chapter 24

Back for You  
><span>4. Chapter 24

_'I am not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens' -Woody Allen_

Death wasn't what I thought it would be- considering I turned out to be very much alive. If anyone had told me otherwise, I would have insisted I had died. I would have sworn I'd seen an angel.

Hunter had come flying out of nowhere, his body colliding against Heath the second before he'd pulled the trigger. It had gone off in Heath's surprise, shooting a bullet far into the distance where it probably hit another tree. The gun was knocked from his hands and landed somewhere on the ground as the two slammed against the floor. And there I was, staring dumbfounded at the angel that had saved me -the angel that happened to be my boyfriend.

Through the clarity of my near-death adrenalin, I saw Hunter come down upon Heath the vengeance of God and his army. Despite what I had said before, Hunter turned out to be no angel, but rather a God.

Heath tried to scramble to his feet but Hunter had him pinned. His heavy fists pounded and pounded down on him without holding anything back. Heath's cried and yelps of pain echoed through the dense woods, struggling to keep his defence up. Hunter dished out blows from his head and down to his chest, making sure that everyone delivered the weight of his entire body behind it. Hunter had earned his muscles through strict training and years of discipline, was taller and heavier than him, and stronger in every aspect. Hunter had the upper ground and the advantage, but as Heath's instincts to live kicked in, he quickly tried to even the match.

Heath hadn't exactly gone wild, but the way he managed to drag Hunter off of him wasn't exactly elegant either. He smashed the side of his fist into his neck just below the ear making Hunter let up for just long enough for Heath to knock him off. Heath took the turn of delivering the blows to Hunter, thrashing his body down on him with wild fists and vicious hisses and roars of anger.

During his attack, my hyper-vigilance noticed something strange. Heaths blows got lower and lower as he threw them from his waist, which was something that didn't call on as much strength when throwing a punch as I had been taught. I watched Heath with that same churning sickness that I knew something bad was going to happen. And it did. Heath hesitated for a second before coming down again, reaching back and snatching something out from the back pocket of his jeans.

I noticed the blade slide out of his pocket before I even registered what it was. "Hunter!" I wailed in surprise. Hunter's eyes flashed to me for a second and realised what I was looking at. Heath didn't hesitate to come at him with the blade. It swiped passed Hunter's cheek as he managed to shove Heath off of him with a kick.

Heath staggered backwards, recovering from Hunter with blade still offensively in front of him. His face had swelled and cuts and broken skin distorted his once pretty-faced features. They both circled each other in a deadly dance, their eyes not looking a way for a second. Hunter made sure to keep his back to me and keep Heath on the other side, knowing exactly what he would do to me if he got too close. It would be bad for him and me alike.

I wished I could have moved, helped out in some way but even though my mind was working in a hyperactive state, flooded by my body's natural drugs, my body still didn't respond. The best I could do was press my hands into the dirt to keep me steady.

Heath darted forward again, surprisingly nimble on his feet for such a big guy. But Hunter was quicker and easily dodged out of his way before righting the distance between them. He had to be careful. Although Heath was a big guy and mostly brute over skill, he still had a knife and that leveled the playing field. Hunter made a feint to go left and Heath fell for it and paid for it the second Hunter's fists connected with his jaw exactly in the same place I had hit him earlier. A broken nose didn't seen to be his only issue any longer. I was pretty sure I could hear the cracking of his jaw on contact. I winced and moved my hands back to my body to cradle my probably broken wrist. You can imagine my surprise when I felt the cold of metal touch my hands. I had to put a hand over my mouth to stop my squeak as I looked down at the gun hidden beneath the leaves by my side.

As Hunter moved in for a second strike, Heath shoved the blade forwards, managing to get a good swipe down the arm Hunter used to block on reflex. I wasn't sure if he had cut a vein but a lot of blood began to pour from the wound like someone had tossed red pain over his arms. Hunter ignored it, keeping his eyes on the blade. Heath must have felt satisfaction from hurting him and his face lit up with a smug grin as big as his swelling face would allow.

His confidence must have come along with it as he charged like a cattle bull with the knife like a horn straight for Hunter. It must have been frustrating when Hunter easily stepped out of his path, knocking Heath on his back and almost knocking him straight into a tree. Heath turned and met Hunter's fist again in the side of his head making him stagger and hiss in pain. He stumbled as he tried to steady himself against the tree with his free hand. Hunter must have hit him hard enough to shake his brain inside his skull, destabilising his sense of balance.

Heath didn't have the choice to give up and continued to throw his knife forwards at Hunter. His actions showed that Heath had a little experience in handling a knife and never gave the opportunity for Hunter to knock it free from his grip.

Heath's frustrations continued to build and his attacks were growing more impatient. If Hunter was here, there was no doubt that the police would arrive soon. From the look in his eyes you could tell he wanted to kill Hunter and get it over with before taking his delight pleasure in doing to me everything he had been imagining. But I wasn't his focus right now, Hunter was, and agitation took him over the edge.

His hand jerked out and thrashed through the air faster than I ever saw it move. Hunter too was momentarily overwhelmed by his speed and only his quick reflexes managed to get him out of his reach. Unfortunately, those instincts didn't notice the drop behind him. It wasn't big, about three feet or so, but it was enough to catch Hunter off guard and bring him down to the earth.

I heard myself scream with my body flying forwards, sweeping my hand off the ground and watching as Heath leapt on top of him. Hunter couldn't react in time, haven fallen at an angle that left his arm immobile and his right crushed by Heath's knee. The knife came down and a second gunshot echoed through the forest.

Heaths body froze, the knife slipping from his fingers and falling gracefully into the soft dirt. My mind seemed to slow for the first time as I watched his body slumped forwards, collapsing against Hunter. Hunter quickly broke free of his shock and slid from out beneath his limp body. His eyes were on mine, staring at me with shock and fear. The fear dissolved quickly as he slowly approached me. A thought in the back of my mind quietly wondered why he was being so cautious, but my focus was on Heath and his unmoving body laying silently in the dead leaves. I didn't look at Hunter, not even as he lowered himself down in front of me, blocking my view of Heath. Instead my eyes fell down to my hands and looked what was in them. The black butt of the gun was entangled in my fingers, facing the direction Heath was once positioned. My mind slowly reeled back and I recalled the seconds before the gun went off. In desperate fear of Hunter's life, I had picked up the gun, aimed and shot it before my mind could even comprehend. I'd killed Heath. I had actually shot him.

Hunter leaned forwards, unlatching my fingers one by one before taking the gun from my hands and setting it down on the floor far out of my reach. Only then, did I manage to look up at Hunter. His face, bruised beaten and bleeding looked down on me with a painful gaze, but the pain wasn't for him. It was for me. Instead of pulling me into his arms straight away, he simple sat down in front of me and wrapped his hands around mine. His were warm, and were probably far warmer than I could have realised at that moment. My hands were numb, the nerves so damaged by the recoil of the gunfire that I could barely feel them. I could barely feel anything at that point. Hunter tried to say something to me, his face instantly paling more than I thought it could go at that point, and I realised the sound had actually stunned my ears to the point I was locked in a silent world. Even if Hunter had managed to say something to me, I doubted I would feel reassured.

Faint red and blue lights illuminated Hunter's face as his hands jumped to my shoulders. I overheard the blurry sound of the sirens for a moment and saw Hunter's face fade out of focus. All the adrenalin in my system and whatever drugs had kept me awake until then had ran out. My consciousness could barely hang on any longer and darkness danced across my vision. I felt Hunter vaguely touch my head, his body stiffening before the cry of my name died out along with my consciousness.


	5. Chapter 25

Back for You  
><span>5. Chapter 25

_'When I die, I want to go peacefully like my grandfather did -in his sleep. Not yelling and screaming like the passengers in his car' -Bob Monkhouse_

When I woke up three days later, there was hospital equipment and clinical things surrounding me. My body was filled with morphine and an IV with warm blankets wrapped up so tight around me I could barely breathe. Apparently, I had ended up with a broken wrist, sprained ankle and a grade three concussion which made me fortunate not to have a bleed in my brain. Not to mention all the other little injuries I had covering my body. I couldn't care less about what type of injuries had at the time. I wanted to see Hunter, to see Sam, hell I even wanted to see Linc over the nurses and doctors that kept rushing in and sedating me after I threatened to punch one and break out the hospital myself. I had to painfully sit through talks with psychiatrist after psychiatrist answering questions about the shooting before they deemed me mentally stable enough to have visitors. Apparently, I still had to go see them after I was out the hospital for the next six months before I was allowed a clean bill of health. I had promptly refused until I was told it was compulsory and had heard Hunter and Sam had both agreed to force me to go, should I refuse or try to escape. I felt slightly betrayed by that but expected none the less. Even so, I still felt that there was no need for me to see a psychiatrist especially after it just so happened that I barely did as much damage as I thought I did.

As it turned out, I didn't kill Heath. The gun had gone off, and fortunately for him, only punctured a kidney. The medical technicians had got to him in time to save him before sending him off to prison with an armored guard. His trail had to be rescheduled until after he was recovered enough to sit down and hear the judge declare "guilty" and smack down his grail.

Even so, I had been stuck inside the hospital for almost a week and a half before I was finally given permission to have visitors on the basis I don't try to use them as hostages to escape from my hold. They apparently weren't forgiving me for the time I used a needle in an attempt to force a doctor to let me go home. I had once been told I wasn't the most friendly of patients.

Sam had visited me first, saying Hunter wouldn't come down until later, which at first surprised me but then just left me disappointment. Nevertheless, I was still sky high with joy (and morphine) that Sam was here. She was my first normal person contact since that day in the woods and I almost cried. I settled for a half hug and ignored the ache of my bruised ribs when her arms tightened back around me. I knew it made her uncomfortable being back in a hospital but with the amount of time she was spending here, she was getting used to it.

My hospital buddy, Griffin, though I wasn't allowed to see him, was also nearby in my hospital wing. I had once gotten far enough down the hall, hobbling on my sprained ankle that I caught Griffin in one of the wards. He was bandaged up pretty bad and unlike Heath, the bullets hadn't hit any of Griffin's internal organs. Three bullet wounds to the chest still hurt, but two were through-and-through and did little damage. The first bullet had gotten stuck in his shoulder and had to be pulled out during surgery. Not that I learned any of these until later since no one ever answered my questions. So when I saw him alive and studying a pot of orange jello with suspicion, I had been so over the moon with relief that I yelled in happiness. It also unfortunately alerted my on-call nurses that I had escaped and they dragged me back to my room. Griffin's deep laugh could be heard from all the way down the hall as I was taken away.  
>Sam had heard about my escapades in the hospital from Griffin and all the trouble I was apparently causing, irritating every member of staff on my team to the point they couldn't help but rant in front of other patients. When Griffin had heard I had come in and had to be sedated, he warned them I wasn't a very cooperative person. I really needed to think about investing in some new friends.<p>

"You're not superman after all then," Sam joked as soon as she entered the room.

"I'd make a good cowboy though." I replied to which she laughed.

"I thought we were sticking to comic book characters." Sam argued.

"Whatever, Cinderella."

"At least make me Rapunzel."

"Sorry, you're not blonde."

"Cinderella's blonde."

"Then you can be Bella."

"I'm not in love with a beast."

"You're right. The man you love isn't a beast."

"Of course Griifin isn't!" Sam growled, a second before she realised what she had given away. Her cheeks lit up with a red blush and my eyes glowed with curiosity. "I mean-" she tried to cover herself but I wouldn't let her."

"Spill. Now." I demanded.

"I'm not some soap opera!"

"Well, you're better than anything on TV, I even checked all the channels." I argued before repeating myself. "Spill. Right Now."

Sam hesitated a moment, looking to the door to see if it was closed and then around the room as if making sure no one was there. If there was I would have been extremely freaked out with them standing there without my noticing. It was a small room as well. After making sure there was no one there, much to my hypothetical relief, she sighed with defeat.

"I kissed him...by accident." She confessed.

"What?" I practically screeched, earning a 'shut up now' glare from Sam, crying about someone coming in.

"You really kissed him. Like a quick kiss on the cheek or a real, you know, big kiss? And what do you mean 'by accident'?"

"After you were taken..." she paused, a look moving across her face too fast for me to catch. "I stayed at the hospital with Griffin and waited for him to come out of surgery. They told me they weren't sure when he was going to wake up and if he would have any psychological damage from it -which he doesn't." Out of everyone I knew getting shot, I figured Griffin with all his wise words, would be one of the least likely to have psychological damage from it -excluding Hunter... and me -maybe. "I was waiting ages, long past the time they estimated he was going to wake up. So when he did I was just so relieved and happy that I just kissed him without thinking."

Sam's deep blush made me pull a grin that may or may not have been extremely creepy. I was overjoyed at her actions, though I planned to tease her about it for a long time. A part of me told me it may have just been a caught-up-in-the-moment thing, I still hoped there was really feelings in there for Griffin now. I could only wonder how happy he was to have that kind of greeting. He probably thought he really was dead. I couldn't say I haven't had the same feeling.

But right now my angel wasn't here. He was the first person I expected through that door, ready to hold me in his arms and kiss me until I was drunk on his love. The thought made me feel cold without his warmth. I couldn't bare to keep it in me any longer and decided to postpone any further commentary I had for my Sam and Griffin shipping.

"Sam," I said, gaining her attention. "Where's Hunter?" When she caught my face her wounded expression softened. I could see the inner battle in her eyes as she contemplated what to say to me. Finally she seemed to cave.

"He was here." she replied at last.

"He was? Where is he now?"

Sam hesitated again. "I'm...not sure."

"What do you mean not sure? Did he go to work? To the apartment? Sam, where did he go?" I got to the point where I was sounding a little frantic, my need for him making me anxious and impatient. Sam noticed it too.

"Calm down now. Or else the nurses will come in and sedate you again before I get chance to explain anything to you." Sam snapped, resurfacing her commanding tone. I sunk into the bed, making room for Sam to lay down beside me and tell me everything.

She went back to the apartment and what had happened after Heath had taken me with him. It turned out that the car I had heard screech to a halt on the other side of the building was Hunter. Our cop detail had been shot and killed in the car.

Hunter had come barreling through the door, his face pale and eyes cold as he saw Griffin in Sam's arms. She had stripped herself of her shirt and didn't care that Hunter had seen her, using it to stop the blood from the bullet wounds. He immediately dropped by Sam, told her to get something to prop his knees and head up to redirect and slow his blood flow. An ambulance siren could be heard in the distance a few second later when Hunter looked around the room. He noticed something missing.

"He took her." Sam cried before he processed anything.

His head flashed towards Sam like lightening. "Where is she?" He asked. His voice was suddenly cold and devoid of any emotion. When Sam saw his eyes she almost gasped. They were full of fear and frightening panic as he asked again. "Where...is she?"

"Heath took her. He went through that door and I think there was a car round back but-"

Hunter was gone, flying through the doorway before she could finish.

Sam went into the ambulance with Griffin and saw Hunter's car take off out the parking lot and down the street faster than anyone could follow. The police had gotten a call from Hunter asking for the GPS of a Mercedes Bendz with a partial number plate and had gone off after it without any police back up. He must have just caught the back end of Heath's car -with me tucked away in the back- turning out of the alley.  
>Back in the hospital room, I recalled Hunter's appearance and took notice of the time difference between his arrival and the cops. There had to have been a ten minute gap between the two.<p>

"He stayed with you, you know." Sam continued, looking up at the ceiling, her hands playing with my fingers unconsciously.

"What?"

"You weren't allowed visitors when you were awake, but Hunter pulled some strings and got permission to stay with you while you were asleep." Sam said. "He was by your side every minute he was allowed and only left when you woke up. I was worried he was going to pass out from hunger or sleep-deprivation, especially during those first three days, but he didn't want to leave your side. The doctors said there was a chance you could have suffered permanent damage to your brain and wasn't sure when you would wake up after they took the sedation off you after the second day. I didn't know when you were going to wake up either, but Hunter, the way he looked by your side." Sam almost couldn't bring herself to say it, looking as heartbroken as I felt, maybe even more so for me. "He looked broken." she almost whispered. "Lost, and desperate and panicked. He was a mess ever since the time he'd returned to the hospital with you from the ambulance before they rushed you straight into tests. He kept going on and on again about your head, how you'd hit it and it was bleeding."

At that point I couldn't help the tears, they came streaming down in big heavy drops and I sobbed too, pressing into Sam's comforting hug. Hearing that story had broke me in two. My heart hurt more than any part of my body and unlike my injuries, that pain couldn't be hidden by any drug.

Sam visited me a lot over the next few days along with a few others including Marty and Lucy from the coffee shop and Linc. Griffin had even managed to scoot down the hallway in a wheelchair he managed to sweet talk a woman out of in the neighboring ICU room to his. I wanted one as well and prepared to challenge him to a race before I got busted for trying to steal one from another elderly gentleman down the hallway. He was a stiff old badger with a stick shoved high up his ass, calling me a insolent child. God knew I was no child and I was sure Hell got the memo too. Even so, my flurry of visitors during the week was still missing one very important person.

My longing and heart ache had turned bitter and angry at Hunter's avoidance. I was his girlfriend -the one who suffered a third degree concussion and was stuck in a hospital bed- and yet still wouldn't come see me. What ever happened to forever? Or 'For-ever' for that matter? It was beyond frustrating. And by the time the weekend came, I decided it was time for a breakout.

I was still supposed to be in the hospital for the next week and a half before I would be on house-arrest tied tightly to my bed -as Sam described- for the next few weeks after that. Apparently the hospital took a concussion a lot more seriously than I did. It was also apparently less serious than a gun shot wound since Griffin was already in a car on his way home. Fortunately, that kept Sam occupied and out of the way as I broke free. I couldn't be too hard on Sam for being overbearing; I'm sure she was a lot better than I was when she was in the hospital. Though I feared for her mind more than her body. I probably would have been in a similar state if my hands hadn't been washed clean of the guilt of killing Heath. Serial-rapist/murder and friend-attacker aside, killing a person was a person no matter what kind of evil being he was. I was more than happy to accept having shot him and injured him. It made it so much better than it was an act of protection for the man I loved (current feelings aside). The very same man that was about to have the hell of a very pissed girlfriend reigning down on him.

Sam had given me a spare change of normal clothes -not one of infinite pyjamas I had been supplied which were better than hospital gowns at least. I managed to slip them on with one hand, my broken wrist pinned to my chest with a sling. It wouldn't be lying if I said it wasn't one of my most graceful moments, or my easiest. Nevertheless I got them on. The escaping undetected was the hard part. My nurse wasn't due to visit me and turn down my morphine after learning my habit of turning it too high when no one was around, for another half an hour which gave me more than plenty of time.

I was actually surprised than in another ten minutes I was stood in the parking lot freezing my ass off because Sam didn't bring me any jackets suitable for winter weather. Then again, I was only supposed to be indoors. None of the doctors had gave me a second glance with my clothes -my arm hidden under my shirt, trying to walk like a normal person would without a sprained ankle. They had it bandaged up but it did little to help. Shoes were also an issue and I loved Sam for packing my Ugg boots. I had never worn them out and treated them as slippers despite their purpose being for outdoors.

Being stood shivering in the parking lot also brought light to another issue. How the hell was I supposed to get to Hunter? I knew he was staying in a hotel in a room next to Sam somewhere nearby since out apartment was currently a crime scene and had been trashed with bullet holes in the walls. Sam only went back there to collect things before heading back to the hotel. Griffin stayed at his place and Sam was probably there with him now. Unless they had gone to her hotel room instead. I didn't think they were going to do anything, well not with Griffin's injuries anyway.


	6. Chapter 26

Back for You  
><span>6. Chapter 26<span>

_'I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter' -Winston Churchill_

The place Sam and Hunter were staying at was called the 'Mayo Hotel'. I managed to bargain the meager cash I had in my wallet and got a taxi to take me there. I was surprised how close it actually was. We were only in the car five minutes before we came to a stop. I handed over the cash, which ended up being all of what I had, and carefully maneuvered out of the taxi so that I didn't catch my arms or my ribs or anything else that hurt. Since I'd taken out my morphine and IV drip (I had closed my eyes when I slid the needles out of my arms) my aches and throbbing pains were slowly coming back. I pushed through the pain and walked through the double doors into the building.

It wasn't exactly five-stars, but it was nice and clean which was all any hotel needed really. I became troubled in the first few minutes of entering when I saw a woman at the desk. When she asked to visit her husband, the receptionist had to call up to the room since he hadn't been notified of her visit. She looked furious and stormed away when apparently her husband rejected giving her permission to go up. If Hunter really didn't want to see me I doubted I was going to get up. People with permission were given key cards stored on the desk top so they could get by security guarding the two elevators behind a set of doors.

When little cog wheels in my head began to turn, I began to plan my course of action.

I came up with one eventually, leaving a little time to scout other people coming in and out of the building. There were several times when I had a heart attack after thinking I'd seen Sam, but it wasn't her and I took refuge in the furthest corner of the building. I didn't know where Sam was which meant she could walk in or out of the building at any second. If she spotted me she would take my ass and deliver it on a platter to the hospital and strap me down before I could get a word in.

After about ten minutes, I got up. I didn't want to waste any more of the precious time I had before the hospital realised I was missing. I would give it another ten minutes which would be just enough time to check the hospital with suspicions that I was probably up to something again. Maybe the hospital wouldn't even care and clean up my room ready for another patient. Some of them would be more than glad to get rid of me. And by 'some' I meant all. Except Dr. Bilatus, or Lauren as I called her, who was one of my visitors through out the week and my top news-giver. They used her because I knew her and trusted her, but it didn't stop me from yelling at all the other hospital staff.

I broke from my daze as I reached the counter. I hated to do it, I knew I had to. It was all to see Hunter, I tried to convince myself when I clamped my hand down on my arm. Pain jolted up my arms and I whimpered in pain as tears fully formed in my eyes. I moved to the desk making a whole dramatic scene over them in sobs and wails and the receptionist suddenly looked flustered. He didn't know what to do, frantically trying to calm me down, passing me a tissue. I tried to say other things but they were muffled by my crying; something about a man and violence or whatever lunatic thing I tried to spew. The guy was a hard-ass to all the other furious people shouting and yelling at him without blinking an eye, but when he saw a child crying earlier he became uncomfortable.

Once he realised he couldn't cheer me up, he ran off into a door to go find his manager, leaving his desk unattended with the log book open and pass cards by the side. Bingo. I quickly flicked through the pages to a week or so ago and found a Charles, Hunter lodged in room 105. I swiped a card and darted through the doors before the receptionist came back.

The two bulky men in black didn't question my card when I showed it to them and just let me through to the elevator. I didn't know what floor he was on and became slightly panicked at which button to press. One of the security guards saw me and yelled to me to press for floor 10. I thanked him just as the doors closed.

The elevator seemed to move at a snail's pace when I noticed how close I was to seeing Hunter. I had no idea why he hadn't come to see me and was fed up without answers. He was bound to have me coming banging down his doors, he just probably wasn't thinking so soon. Sam's story did influence me a bit towards the reasons he may have stayed away from me, the shock of me passing out in his arms with blood from my head can be a bit overwhelming but it had been almost two weeks since I saw him and I wasn't giving up now.

The elevator opened on floor ten and a woman got into it as I came out, nodding politely to each other as we passed. There were about fifteen rooms on the floor and the numbers gradually went up from 101 to 1015. That's when I realised the number coding. Floor- room number. Floor ten, room five; 105.

My feet marched up to the door number five, my arm still throbbing from where I'd squeezed it and sure enough there was a plaque with 105 written on it. Sam would have been in room 106 or 107 but from the silence I heard from the doors I assumed she had gone to Griffin's place in the end. I noticed that I didn't know where Griffin's place was and got momentarily distracted by my baffled curiosity.

I was drawn back with the sound of music coming from Hunter's room. It was _'sweet as hole'_ by Sara Bareilles. So many memories were pulled out of my head and I hesitated a little before knocking on my door. I waited and waited before knocking again to which he still didn't answer.

On my third knock I banged hard enough for everyone on the floor above and below to hear. He still didn't answer. I wasn't even mad anymore. I was furious. On impulse, I grabbed the handle and shoved, not expecting the door to fly open. Why was I the only one who got scolded for not locking my doors?

I went crashing into the room and stumbled to catch myself before face-planting the wall opposite the door. A figure bolted up from the couch and it made me scream and jump back before turning on them.

Hunter stood in front of me and the music and room disappeared as my world enclosed around him. For just that moment, he seemed to be the only thing that existed. My eyes instantly drank in all of him; his tall body, his beautiful built muscles, his sharp face, his green-brown eyes, and his unshaven jaw that made him look older than he was. "Hunter." I breathed, overcome with the joy of seeing him again. I wanted to run and throw my arms -or arm- around him and never let go. But there was something about his gaze that was stopping me. I thought he might be mad I escaped from the hospital, but that wasn't it. Rather than looking happy I was there, he looked...scared? No not quite scared, fearful. It was like a wild animal had walked into his room and he felt too scared to move.

"Hunter?" I said, taking a step forwards. He took one back, breaking from his daze.

"Ev!" He snapped. "Why are you here?"

"What do you mean why am I here? I came here to see you."

"You should be at the hospital."

"Yeah, well I'm not. Why are you acting like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like I'm some wild animal." I was slowly getting aggravated with Hunter's constant dodging of my questions. He hesitated a moment, before replying.

"You should go back to the hospital." He said. I could heard the sound of my control snapping. All my earlier anger came gushing back to me in one big tidal wave.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I snapped, much to his sudden surprise. "You can come sit with me while I'm sedated but you hide from me when I'm awake. It's almost been two weeks since I woke up Hunter. Two weeks." I realised by now that I was crying and screaming at him but I didn't care. "Do you know how hurt I am that my _apparent_-boyfriend who _apparently _loves me hadn't come to see me in two weeks? I've been waiting for you! Why weren't you there?"

I was breathing heavily when I finished, looking at Hunter through my bleary eyes, ignoring the pounding throb of another headache rolling in. Hunter's looked shocked as he sunk down onto the couch, as if it hadn't occurred to him that I might have felt upset at his neglect. Somehow that pissed me off more.

Hunter propped his elbows onto his knees and buried his head in his hands without reply. My eyes fell on him with annoyance, but then dropped to the table. To my surprise, there had to have been at least ten to fifteen cans of beer scattered across the coffee table. Some had fallen onto their sides and the little bit of alcohol left in them had spilled out onto the table. "Wait." I said with a stupendous attitude. "Are you drunk?" In my entire relationship with Hunter, as friends and lovers, I had never seen Hunter completely drunk. I had seen him _drink,_ but not drunk. On any other day I would have found the presented opportunity amusing and a new thing to dig my curious claws into, but today wasn't any other day, and it worried me instead.

"Hunter?" I said, cautiously sitting on the couch next to him. He flinched as I sat, but kept his face buried in his hands. "Hunter?" I probed again, my voice calm and reassuring.

"You scare me." He finally mumbled, once again managing to shock me.

"_I_ scare you?" I repeated, feeling dumbfounded.

"You're scary." I felt lost for words. How was _I _scary? What was Hunter – Big, strong, black-belt in five different martial arts, dojo-boy Hunter so afraid of? I mean, I get I can be intimidating sometimes but to a person like Hunter I was as scary as a stick -one of those thin, brittle ones that snapped easy.

"I don't get it." I said aloud, trying to get round my confusion. I jumped a little when he moved, removing his hands from his face. He looked to me, his eyes catching mine, making me gasp. The longing in his eyes was ten times stronger than what I had felt in the hospital waiting for him. I could tell by his eyes that he just wanted to hug me, and touch me, and kiss me, and all sorts of other things. So what was stopping him?

Hunter's hands shook a little as he turned to face me, tucking his long legs underneath him. I mimicked him. Once we had broke eye contact Hunter went back to trying to avoid my gaze. "When I got that phone call I was so scared, so afraid that it couldn't get any worse. But it did. It kept getting worse. Coming to the apartment finding you weren't there, seeing the car drive off around the corner, the empty boot of Heath's car, the gun pointed at your head. Oh god, I thought that was the worse few seconds of my life. I was sure he was going to pull the trigger, I thought he'd shot you when I hit him. I thought you were gone. But you weren't. And I was so happy. But then you did it again. You scared me so bad. You collapsed and your head was bleeding, I tried and tried so hard to wake you up but you wouldn't wake up. I actually thought you were dead until the paramedics pulled you from me and told me you weren't. I felt so weak, felt that even with all this strength I couldn't do anything." The image of Hunter holding me in his arms so desperate to wake me up, screaming and calling my name, brought me to tears. My face was already damp with tears of frustration and now those heart-wrenching tears that Sam had given me earlier in the week came back alongside the heavy ache of my heart. I noticed with a start that Hunter was also crying. He wasn't sobbing or wailing in sadness. His face was otherwise frozen, except for the few tears running down the contours of his face.

I went to speak, unsure of what I would say, but Hunter cut me off before I got a chance to find out.

"You'll be the undoing of me, Ev. I don't think I could ever handle it if you were ever put in a situation like that again. I was almost too late. What would I have done if he had killed you? Hell, when you shot him, I was sure you wouldn't recover from it if you killed him. I couldn't bring myself to face you awake, I was so frightened that something would happen and that you would be taken from me."

I wanted to tell him that it was going to be okay and that I would never be taken from him and blame his outburst on the drink and go back to normal. I wish I was that naive, but the world was a bitch, and I knew I couldn't lie about it; those were Hunter's real feelings and what he said was the truth, no matter how much I wished it wasn't.

"I could die at any second." I said bluntly. I wasn't sure where I was planning to go with it, but I was speaking from the heart and whatever I said or was going to say was the truth. It certainly got Hunter's attention, meeting my fierce eyes for the first time since he called me scary. "I could have died in that forest with Heath. I could have died in a hit and run on the way here. I could have died because a plane fell out of the sky. But I didn't. Even if I did, I would come back. Back for you. But that may not happen and I know you hate the idea of me dying and I hate it too. Before I shot Heath, I felt that very same panic because I thought you were going to die. I thought he was going to stab you right there and then. And if he had, rather than shooting Heath with that gun, I would have shot myself." Hunter opened his mouth to argue but I continued on. "But you didn't die. And I didn't die. Griffin didn't die, Sam didn't die. Heath's had his turn at all of us. But we're alive and that's what matters. I know right know, you're hurt by what happened but I won't break that easily. I'm not glass and neither are you." I put my hand on his torso and lifted his against mine, feeling both out hearts steadily beating under our strong chests. "We're just going to have to keep fighting this fucked-up world because that's how we survive. So if I'm going to survive and fight then you have to fight along side me." I finished with a deep draw of breath, suddenly tired of talking.

Hunter stared up at me in fascination. His cold, stone expression that was so guarded on his face had melted -not completely, but enough for me to break through.

"You are seriously going to be the end of me, you know that, Angel?" Hunter grumbled with a disgruntled sigh. I felt the rumble of his lungs beneath my fingertips, while the rest of me bubbled with warmth at the sound of my nickname running from his lips.

"As long as you understand, Robin." I saluted mockingly, picking my hand up from his chest. His stayed on me, but instead of remaining on my chest it ran over my skin with shocks of electricity, sliding around the back of my neck. He pulled me close and pressed his lips against mine. It was soft and gentle but resonated deep down with in me, and stirred up a love I knew would never end.

"Hunter..." I uttered as we broke apart. He gave a small chuckle.

"I love you." Hunter whispered and brushed my lips.

"I love you." I said back, wrapping my free arm around his neck and pulling him close. Our lips brushed and my legs fastened around his back, being weary of my sprained ankle. Hunter, careful of my wrist, hoisted my body up with his and carried me to the bedroom.

We stayed in there, wrapped in each other's bruised bodies, until Sam came banging in on the door. My escape from _Azkaban_ apparently hadn't reached Hunter's ears and when it did, I might as well have been wearing black and white as they both escorted me back to the hospital. I really needed better friends. But I would never give them up for anything in the world. I loved them and they loved me. We were going to have to survive this fucked-up world together because I never planned on ever letting them go.

**-The End-**


End file.
